Physiological adaptations observed in middle-aged females following a 12-16 week aerobic conditioning program

The purpose of this investigation was to quantify the physiologic changes, in middle-aged (43.2 ± 10.6 years) females, associated with participation in an aerobic conditioning program. Evaluation of these females (N=192) occurred during the period of 1973 to 1987. The conditioning program consisted of vigorous aerobic exercise (walk, walk-jog, aerobic dance) at an intensity of 70-85% maximal heart rate reserve, four times per week, for 12 to 16 weeks. Variables analyzed were body weight (BW), percent body fat (%FAT), maximal heart rate (HRmax), maximal ventilation (VE), resting heart rate (RHR), maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), systolic blood pressure (SBP) total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TRG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and glucose (GLU).Pre and post training data were analyzed using away ANOVA for repeated measures. The alpha level was set at p<0.05 level of significance. Significant decreases were noted for WT (2.37), %FAT (7.7%), DBP (4.0%), SBP (3.1%), RHR (7.4%), TRG (7.6%), and TC (2.6%). Significant increases were noted in HDL-C (3.2%), VO2max (ml/kg/min, 18.0%) and VE (16.6%). No changes were noted in HRmax and GLU. These data suggest that short term (3-4 months) aerobic conditioning of middle-aged females can result in significant improvements of the parameters used as measures of physical fitness.